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Be at the Annenberg Space for Photography on Saturday, Dec. 16 for the delicious orb-shaped icon.

What to Know

Saturday, Dec. 16

Annenberg Space for Photography

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The holiday seasons brims with orbs and globes and spheres and balls of all sizes, shapes, levels of glitterness, and varied flavors (if the orbs are edible).

On the non-edible orb front? There are the standard round ornaments, be they glass or full of color. There are tabletop decorations, too, which often take on a ball form. And snowballs count here, as well, for they show up, in spots, in December.

On the edible end of things? Rum balls count, as do those peanut-y buckeye balls, a Christmas classic.

For Southern Californians, though, the holiday season is about a certain savory ball that can only be found at one spot: Porto's Bakery and Café.

Well, "one spot" is a bit misleading, as there are a few Porto's nowadays, and thank goodness, with a recent entry in Buena Park, and one that's coming up in West Covina, plus the forever-busy locations in Glendale, Burbank, and Downey.

Best add one more potato-ball-tastic destination to that list, for one day only: Century City. For The Annenberg Space for Photography, where the exhibition "Cuba Is..." is currently on view, will host a Potato Ball Pop-Up on Saturday, Dec. 16 from 11 a.m. to 3 o'clock.

Find the luscious palm-sized goodie, which is filled with ground beef, seasonings, and, yes, smashy spuds, too, at Doña Dulce, the on-site sweet shop that is running along with the photo exhibit.

The shop is overseen by Porto's, and when it was first revealed, in August 2017, that Porto's would do a pop-up at the Century City snapshot spot, many fans expected that potato balls, inarguably Porto's most famous offering, would play a part.

Alas, they would not; Doña Dulce is all about the grab-and-go desserts (hence the name).

But potato balls will, repeat WILL appear at the Annenberg on Dec. 16, for four yummy hours, in a very festive showing of the potato-ball-iest season on the calendar.

Buy 'em in packs of six, and when they're gone? You know what we're about to type next: They're gone. So arrive earlier than later, potato-ball-ists, if scoring a half-dozen savory goodies, in Century City, is part of your Saturday plan.

Orbs and spheres may rule the yuletide in places near and far, but in zip codes that start with a 9? We need our Porto's potato balls, first and foremost, when the big family gatherings roll around.

And if we can enjoy one or two or, let's be real, six, in Century City, on a Saturday in mid-December? There's no suspense in what happens next: We shall.